History of Heironeous/Chapter 9
And when the army of Heironeous was come unto Tlaloc, wherein dwelt men who were as serpents, Salan, son of Roka, spake unto Heironeous, saying, Let us destroy these creatures, yea, and their city, for they are an abomination, and do perform evil rites in their temples. #And Heironeous spake unto Salan, saying, Wherefore dost thou seek to destroy this city, for behold, we know not their purpose nor their intentions. Thou sayest, These are an abomination, and further, These do perform evil rites. Behold I say unto thee, How knowest thee these things? Hast thou been into their temple, and witnessed them? #For behold, thou knowest that I have commanded thee, yea, and all them that follow after me, to hasten not judgement of others, but to ensure that justice and truth are done always, for those who are not of the form of men as we are are not evil thereby, nor are they wicked because they are different, nor to be slain because they are strangers. #And Salan was ashamed, and hid his face, and said, Nay, I have not been in their temple, nor have I spoken with any of the men who are of the form of serpents, but I have spoken with the scouts, who have spoken with the men who have not the form of serpents that live in the land round about this city. #And Heironeous said, I have heard not the reports of the scouts, that they have met other men in this land, who have not the form of serpents, therefore, bring unto me the scouts, that I may hear their words. #And the sons of Gither the halfling, that were the scouts of the army, were brought unto Heironeous, and knelt, and gave unto him their report, saying, #We didst journey through the land round about the city, as thou commanded us to do, and we did find villages, yea, and hamlets, and small camps of men who have not the forms of serpents, but the forms of men, as one might have seen in the lands from whence we came. #And we spake unto them, saying, Tell us of this city, wherein we see men who have the form of serpents, yea, and who guard their walls by day and by night. #And the men spake unto us, saying, That city, called by them who dwelleth therein Tlaloc, is a place of misery and suffering, and we who dwell round about are slaves of that place, who have fled from it, that we might die in the wilderness as free men, rather than in the city as slaves. #And when Heironeous heard these things, he didst cry with a loud voice, and rent his garments, and gaze upon the city of Tlaloc that he might learn of its secrets. #For Heironeous had entered into dialogue with the emissary of the city, that he and his army might find rest and supplies therein, to rest from the crossing of the mountains, which had been arduous, and Heironeous felt shame, for he had tried to bargain with the forces of evil. #And Heironeous spake unto his army, saying, This city which lieth before us is the home of slavery, yea, and of misery and torment, and so we shall go unto it, and lay waste to the city, and spare none of the men with the form of serpents that lieth therein, but we shall slay them all. #And the army of Heironeous obeyed his voice, and they left the jungles and came upon the road that lead unto the city, and marched unto its gates, which were guarded day and night. #And when the guards saw the army of Heironeous, that it marched unto their gates, they sent a messenger unto the emissary, saying, Behold, Heironeous has made peace with us, and accepted thy terms and cometh unto the city; #Wherefore, when should we slay them? At the gates, or should we permit them to enter the city, that we may closeth the gates behind them, that none should escape? #And the emissary sent back unto the guards, saying, Open wide the gates unto Heironeous and his army, and permit them to enter, and slay them not, but make them slaves unto us, that we may profit from them. #And so it came to pass that the gates were opened unto Heironeous, and his army was astonished, for the gates opened and they were permitted to enter without challenge. #And the army of Heironeous came unto the plaza of the city, which was at its very center, and there was by that place the prison of the slaves, and the marketplace thereof. #And the emissary came upon a high place, and cried with a loud voice, saying, Surrender, Heironeous, thou, and thine army, and we shall make thee slaves, but spare thy lives; #For behold, I have at mine command twenty and five thousand warriors, armed with swords, and with bows, and with poisons, and we shall destroy thee utterly unless thou surrenderest unto us. #And the army of Heironeous waited not for his command, but attacked the guards that surrounded them, yea, and Heironeous also attacked without hesitation, for the overconfidence of the evil ones had delivered them into the hands of Heironeous. #And Heironeous shattered the doors of the prison, and led out the slaves, and armed them from the corpses of the guards he had slain, and the ranks of his army were swelled that day four thousand and five hundred slaves, whom he made free men, and soldiers in his army. #And the army of Heironeous fought all that day, and all that night, and all the next day, until there were none of the men of the form of serpents left alive in the city, but all were slain. #And Heironous counted his men, and saw that of the four thousand and five hundred he had freed, one thousand remained alive, and he spake unto them, saying, #Ye have fought this day for your lives, therefore, take ye this city, and make it your own, and show malice to none who come unto thee in good faith, but hold this city as a sanctuary, and as a place of refuge for the weak, and the defenceless, and the afflicted. #And those who had been slaves but were free knelt before Heironeous, and swore fealty to him, and promised to obey the commandment which he had given unto them, and they named their city Freetown, for they said, In this place were we made free. #And Heironeous counted his men that he had brought from the lands northward, and behold, the fifty and five were yet alive, preserved against the swords and the arrows and the poison of the men who were of the form of serpents. #Yet not all were untouched, for the sons of Gither the halfling came forward, Andus and Aceren, carrying Alphus on a litter, for Alphus had been struck by an arrow, and had been poisoned, and the poison weakened him. #And when Alphus saw that he had been brought unto Heironeous, he raised himself up from his litter, and spake unto his leader, saying, #My lord, I have followed thee from my home, leaving my wife and my children that I might follow thee. Now, I pray thee, bury me here, in this the place of thy first triumph on this land, that my body might be a rememberence unto this people, of the battle we have fought in their name. #And Heironeous wept for Alphus, who had been a true and noble soldier in his work, and reached for his hand, and placed it upon Alphus, and said unto him in a loud voice, #Rise up from thy litter, and put away thy sickness, and throw off this poison, for I commandeth thee to be cured. #And Alphus rose up straightway from his litter, for the power of Heironeous removed the poison from him, and restored unto him his strength, that he was cured of his ills. #And when the army of Heironeous saw this, they were amazed, and whispered one to another, How was this done? And by what power did Heironeous do this? For the power to cure poison, and disease, and all manner of illness, was that owned only by the gods, and given to their clerics, and Heironeous was the servant of no god. #And the men who had been slaves but were now free saw this, and whispered one to another, saying, How was this done? For Heironeous is the servant of no god, therefore, his power must be of the devils, and he must have consort with the forces of wickedness, that he might lead us into sin. Category:History of Heironeous